Generation adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by adidas, encourages early entry (without college graduation) of American players into MLS. Until 2005, the program was sponsored by Nike and was called Project-40.Generation adidas U-17 Cup

FRISCO, Texas — Defending Generation adidas Cup champions D.C. United qualified for the semifinals of the 2011 edition by virtue of a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.

DC, who won on the ensuing penalty kicks, denied Houston a first-place finishing in Group A with the win, as the Dynamo drew Columbus by a 0-0 score and the Texas club won on penalties. US Under-17 goalkeeper Fernando Piña was a stalwart in goal for Houston in the penalty kicks, but the result still leaves them second in the group and out of the running for the championship.

Facing DC in the semifinals are FC Dallas, hosts of this year’s tournament. FCD finished the unbeaten in Group B after winning 3-1 against Seattle Sounders.

The other group winners were Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy. Chivas defeated New England 2-0, winning their third group game — the only U-17 side in Frisco to win all three group games — and take top spot in Group C.

The Galaxy topped Group D by goal differential, winning 2-0 over Real Salt Lake, earning the semifinal berth through virtue of outscoring the New York Red Bulls, who beat Chicago 2-0 and finished equal on points with LA.

Other action on Friday included a frenetic finish between Sporting KC and San Jose. With Sporting down 4-2 with two minutes remaining, Nate Opperman scoring twice in those last two minutes to earn a 4-4 draw — with KC winning 5-4 on penalty kicks.

FRISCO, Texas — A goal on either side of halftime paced the LA Galaxy to a 2-0 win over FC Dallas in the Under-17 championship at the Generation adidas Cup.

Sebastian Velasquez and Mario Rodriguez grabbed the goals, as the Galaxy secured their second major trophy of the summer after winning the USSF Development Academy U-16 Championship at Finals Week earlier in the month.

As the busy tournament came to an end, the heat and number of games caught up with the players in Sunday’s final.

“Both teams were completely shot today,” LA coach Kenny Arena said.“In this heat, to play five games in seven days, it’s nearly impossible.”

Former MLSers thrive in club academy coaching rolesRecent tournament a chance for ex-players to pass on knowledge

Manning the sidelines for each squad were former MLS players — Danny Dichio and Jim Brennan for Toronto FC, and Alecko Eskandarian and Jim Curtin for Philadelphia Union — a growing trend in academy circles around the league.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Curtin told MLSsoccer.com of players going the coaching route. “The more ex-players that get involved, the better. It’s a newer league, still unique rules we’re familiar with.”

Curtin and Eskandarian (pictured above, at far left and far right, during their playing days) in particular have been working together for only a short time as the latter recently came on as the Union’s youth technical director. The two were teammates at Chivas USA, which helps the adjustment process.

“We’re familiar with each other, we challenge each other,” Curtin said. “I’m more the defensive mind, he’s the attacking mind so it’s good.”

Whitecaps Residency developing Canada's future stars"Top-notch academy" program to expand with 3 more categories VANCOUVER, B.C. — While the Vancouver Whitecaps have struggled to find their feet at times in their first MLS season, the club’s future stars have helped Canada’s Under-17 program to one of its best years ever.

The Whitecaps Residency program played a big part, and with an expansion scheduled for next month, that contribution to the national setup is set to grow.

Things are set to get even better for young players and the Canadian national program — the Whitecaps will be expanding their Residency program in September to include the U-14, U-16 and U-18 categories, in addition to the U-17 and U-19 teams.

The program’s expansion — announced back in April — means the number of players in Residency will grow from the current 25 to more than 80 players.

FRISCO, Texas — A long year for D.C. United’s Academy finally came to an end last weekend with the conclusion of the Generation adidas Cup.

From a results perspective, there was mixed news: DC’s U-17s finished fourth, wrapping up the week with a tough 6-0 loss against Chivas USA, while the U-15s managed their only win of the week on Sunday, defeating Houston 2-1.

One of the biggest goals of the past week — and the entire season — was to continue to implement the 4-3-3 system at the academy levels, a process that will be overseen by former Ajax player and DC assistant coach Sonny Silooy.

“It’s better for the players — I know that because I played it all my life,” Silooy said. “It’s more fun to watch more attacking soccer. We want to be dominant, to play in the half of the opponent.”

Of course, this is a plan that can’t be put in place overnight, and in the last half of the Development Academy season, DC made the switch. It led to a rather successful run for both the U-16s and U-18s that came to an end in the Academy playoffs, before attention switched to the Generation adidas Cup last week.

Teenagers prove MLS youth is served in Week 21 Five players under 20 years old find the back of the net in Wk. 21

It certainly smells like teen spirit these days in Major League Soccer.

OK, so the teenage stars who lit up the scoreboards over the weekend might be too young to get that Nirvana reference, but there's no denying that now is as good a time as any to be young and talented in MLS. With the production levels of teams’ Home Grown and academy players soaring, the performances of youngsters like these may just be the difference between a playoff side and one on the outside looking in.Orthey could just offer a glimpse into the future of MLS, ready to send their own fans into a frenzy.

Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution):The 16-year-old (above) had a debut to remember. Albeit in a loss, the Home Grown signee came on as a substitute against Chivas USA and became an instant contributor. The Uruguayan forward drew a penalty just two minutes after his entrance and cut the Revs’ deficit in half, then notched a goal of his own in the 85th minute. The Revolution can only hope that it is the first of many. Watch Fagundez score here.

Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake):The Under-20 US national team member tallied his first career MLS goal against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday and paced Real Salt Lake to a 3-0 home win. The 17-year-old beat Red Bulls goalkeeper Frank Rost just before halftime and doubled RSL’s advantage heading into the break. New York couldn't recover, and the Southern Californian was subbed off in the 67th minute after a brilliant performance. Watch Gil score here.

Orr Barouch (Chicago Fire):Chicago fell 4-2 to Vancouver on Sunday, but an 80th-minute strike from 19-year-old Barouch gave the Fire something positive to take with them back to the Windy City. It was the second goal of the season in league play for the Israeli forward, who came on as a substitute in the 56th minute for the newly-acquired Sebastián Grazzini. It has been a promising campaign so far for Barouch, who also found the back of the net twice in last month’s US Open Cup quarterfinal win over the New York Red Bulls. Watch Barouch score here.

Gershon Koffie (Vancouver Whitecaps):Koffie countered Barouch’s tally with a goal of his own for the Whitecaps. The Ghanaian forward gave the ‘Caps a 2-1 lead in the 24th minute off a feed from Eric Hassli for his first career MLS goal. The 19-year-old has been a staple in Vancouver’s midfield, starting 17 of the club’s 23 games, and was finally rewarded with his name in the stat sheet. Watch Koffie score here.

Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union):The 19-year-old Generation Adidas signee put the Union on the scoreboard first in the 15th minute of their 1-1 draw at home against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. It was the first time McInerney had found the back of the net this season, after hammering home three goals last year. The Georgia native made the most of his first action with the senior team in nearly a month, getting the start and going 66 minutes to help earn Philadelphia a point at PPL Park. Watch McInerney score here.

CARSON, Calif. — Chivas USA’s youth academy is undergoing a major restructuring project and has added some big names to aid in the development.

The recently retired Jimmy Conrad has joined the club's academy following the recent merger with the New York Cosmos West program. The longtime MLS defender has taken up an active role alongside the club's new director of youth development, Teddy Chronopoulos. Conrad and Chronopoulos will now oversee a youth program based on a coaching curriculum written by head coach Robin Fraser and assistant coach Greg Vanney.

Conrad has put an emphasis on recruiting and the business aspects of the game, but he admits the transition from the field hasn’t always been an easy one

On Friday the US Soccer Development Academy, the elite competition for youth players around the country, announced it will be moving to a September-June season beginning with the 2012-2013 campaign, spreading matches across 10 months.

“This is the model that the best countries around the world use for their programs, and I think it makes perfect sense that we do as well,” said US national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann in a US Soccer statement. “The Development Academy 10-month season is the right formula and provides a good balance between training time and playing competitive matches.”

CHICAGO – The Montreal Impact and Portland Timbers have been selected to join the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, Tuesday, following an extensive review process. The Impact U18 and U16 teams will join the Academy for the start of the 2012-13 season."This is excellent news for the club as this championship groups the best clubs in all of North America and MLS," declared the director of the Impact Academy Philippe Eullaffroy. "This league will be an excellent developmental tool for the U16 and U18 teams, an excellent transition for the U21 level and a source of additional motivation for the U14s. This league will help develop our players so that they may succeed at the pro level

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